@prologic@twtxt.net mastodon makes that configurable, which I think is a decent approach. I actually like to watch my follower count because it can be a good signal for weird stuff happening (especially if it goes up or down by more than it “should” in a short period of time). Saying “don’t include this because people will chase the metric” is…..well…….not the most nuanced reason.

Not talking about getting rid of your Following list for yourself. Just the public Following count. It’s kind of useless.